Albania: A pedestal, cloudy skies and smoke effects

About Hersi

Hersi Matmuja was born on February 1st, 1990. She has pursued a dual career path, which led her to be successful in both modern and classical music. Despite being still very young, Hersi has already five times participated in the annual Festivali i Këngës, which doubles as the Albanian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. This year her song One Night's Anger, originally titled Zemërimi i një nate, did the trick, taking her to the Eurovision stage in Copenhagen!

"Keep calm and think twice", that's one part of the chorus of the Albanian Eurovision entry, sung by Hersi. And indeed the young and charismatic singer appeared to be very calm when we met her backstage before her rehearsal. "I thought I'd be nervous but I am not!", she told us just before moving on to her soundcheck.

On stage in her first rehearsal today, Hersi performed in front of a dark blue backdrop, which was later displaying cloudy skies. She was standing on a pedestal, with her backing vocalists and drummer on stage level behind her. On the TV screens, the song starts with a close-up of Hersi, and then goes to wide screen.

Today Hersi performed in an elegant dark blue dress but she had already told us before that this is not the stage costume for the First Semi-Final of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest. Smoke effects were used today, covering the stage floor and well visible in the wide camera shots.

A relaxed team backstage

"I love the international atmosphere here", Albanian representative Hersi told Eurovision.tv before her rehearsal. "I'm always curious to find out what people do differently when travelling somewhere. For example I learned that people here in Denmark kiss once when you meet, while in Albania it's four times."

The singer was in a good mood while mingling with the other delegations backstage: "I've been relaxing mostly since I arrived here. Now I'm getting excited, but I'm surprised that I am not nervous. I thought I'd be nervous but I'm not." Refering to her own song, One Night's Anger, she added: "It's like in the lyrics - keep calm and think twice. For now I really feel calm."

What can we expect in the rehearsal, what will the stage look like? "I've seen it and it's beautiful but I don't want to reveal it yet. You have to see it yourself", Hersi added before proceeding to her soundcheck.

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Further reading

Hersi is not just a classy singer, with a lot of experience both in pop and opera, she also has a great sense of fashion: She is wearing a new dress just about every day, and she even brought her personal fashion designer with her! Learn more in our special feature!

One Night's Anger is the title of the Albanian entry this year, but Hersi didn't seem angry at all when she arrived at the B&W Hallerne - rather: relaxed. "It's our second rehearsal and I am confident, everything will be fine", she told us before going to the soundcheck.

Hersi Matmuja will represent Albania in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, and the talented young musician is right now focusing her time and energy on this particular event. "This year is full of beautiful things, like Eurovision and my graduation", she says, smiling to the camera, and looking forward to entering the stage in Copenhagen soon. Watch our video interview with Hersi right here on Eurovision.tv!

Tonight, the final of Festivali i Këngës took place in the Albanian capital city Tirana, where 16 entrants fought for the honour to represent Albania in the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest. In the end of the show, seven jury members made their decision and gave Hersi Matmuja the awaited ticket to Copenhagen!